Duct-holder.



F. R. MORRIS, DECD.

C. E. a M. R. MORRIS. EXECUJORS. DUCT HOLD-ER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2| I917- RENEWED AUG. 3!. I918.

Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

III! I!! INVENTOR WITNESSES I ATTORNEY nu: I'm-ms rnnu cu, rumour-m.\numncwn. a c.

FULTON R. MORRIS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN; CASSIUS E. MORRIS AND MARK R.MORRIS, EXECUTORS OF THE WILL OF SAID FULTON R. MORRIS, DECEASED; SAIDCASSIUS E. MORRIS, EXECUTOR, ASSIGNOR OF THE WHOLE RIGHT TO ALBERT W.

STRONG, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

DUCT-HOLDER.

Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

Application filed May 21, 1917, Serial No. 170,004. Renewed August 31,1918. Serial No. 252,261.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FULTON R. MoRRIs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Duct:Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in duct holders, and moreparticularly to a structure of this character adapted to be embodied inthe construction of grain driers and coolers Or other like apparatus,and for holding air ducts in place.

Heretofore it has been customary to fit the air duct in place byinserting the same more or less loosely through openings provided in thewalls of the chambers in which they are to be mounted, or to secure theducts in place by the use of bolts; however, in the first mentionedadaptation the ducts are not ordinarily capable of being secured rigidlyin place except by the use of set screws or other like fastenings whichare at best somewhat of a make-shift, and in the use of the.

latter form of fastening or mounting, it has been necessary to employthree men to 1nstall the ducts in place, one man being required on theinside of the chamber, and two men on the outside, and even then it hasbeen found a slow and laborious task to fit and secure .the ducts inplace. With the above in mind, it is a purpose of my invention toprovide a holder structure which can be embodied with the duct and inthe construction of the chamber, which is of such character that theducts can be fitted in place by one man working within the chamber, andwhile properly held in place during use, can be readily removed andreplaced when it is desired to do so.

A further object resides in providing a structure which can be embodiedwith the sides of the chamber and with the ducts as the same aremanufactured, and which holder structure is of such construction thatever part will fit into its exact place in the setting up of the drieror cooler, while at the same time the mounting of the ducts acrossbetween the sides of the chamber will give the parts considerableadditional bracing in the entire structure.

WVith the above and other objects in view,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

. Fig. 3 is a view in perspective showing that portion of the structurewhich is fitted to the duct proper; V

Fig. 4 shows in perspective one of the clips to be fitted upon the wallof the chamber in which the duct is to be mounted; and,

Fig. 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing the manner in, which aduct would be mounted between and in conjunction with the side walls ofthe chamber.

As has been stated, the structure of my invention is such that it isparticularly adaptable for use in securing and holding air ducts withinthe drying and cooling chambers of grain driers, and in this connectionthe ducts are mounted much after the manner rather generally indicatedin Fig. 5, where the side walls 1 and 2 which define the limit of thechambers of the apparatus in conjunction with which the ducts are to besupported and held are to have the ducts, generally indicated by thereference character 3, fitted across therebetween and held in, orsubstantially in a horizontalplane. The showin of the duct, in F ig; 5,is substantially in p an and it will be noted that at each end means isindicated for holding the duct in conjunction with the walls 1 and 2.

It is customary, as is perhaps better shown in Patent No..1,028,899,granted June ll, 1912, upon an application filed by me, toprovide theside walls of the grain chambers with openings to form air passages forcirculation of drying and cooling air into and from the chambers, andthe ducts, which consist of frames covered with a wire netting andforming tube like passage-ways are cured to extend entirely across thegrain chambers fromone side to the otherand to have their ends incommunication with the openings formed through the. sides. End pieces 4,of the shape of the cross section of the duct, that is with verticalside walls and an inverted V-shaped top wall, are constructed to bereceived in the netting and to form a frame and supporting structuretherefor. The end pieces are provided with recesses 5 for reception of aridge strip 5 which is to form the apex of the duct, while base strips 6and 7 are rigidly connected at their ends with the lower extremities ofthe end pieces, by means of rivets 8, or other suitable fastening means.A wire netting strip 9 or a strip of other pervious material, is mountedover the frame work formed by connecting the members together in themanner set forth and is stretched from one base strip to the other, overthe ridge strip and around the shoulders of the end pieces, followingwhich it is secured in place thereon to form an inverted trough-likeguard for assuring a passage-way for air from one side wall to the othereven though the chamber may be filled with grain. The end pieces at havethe outstanding flange 10 formed to ex tend laterally along the side andtop portions, substantially as shown in Fig. 1, and in this way the endpieces are made substantially rigid and are braced against being sprungthrough force exerted upon the outer sides of the netting strip 9,although under some circumstances the flange might be extended onlyalong the two parallel extremities of the end pieces, as these partsonly of the flange are provided with the distinct purpose of securingthe duct in place, although it will of course be understood thatadditional bracing will be given to the end pieces by extension of theflange over the inverted V-shaped formation thereof and also a broaderface is provided to be received against the inner face of the chamberwall upon which the end piece is to be held.

'As has been stated, the ducts are constructed to be completed units andthe mounting of the end pieces, the ridge strip, and the base strip, aswell as the netting strip, is such that the structure will besubstantially rigid in the connection of the parts and that the basestrip by which the sides of the netting strip are mounted in place willbe held against springing in as the weight of grain loaded into thechamber in which the ducts are used exerts crushing pressure against theduct, and if the duct proper be constructed in this way, it will ofcourse be understood that it will not be necessary to give the sameadditional support or reinforcement by means of bolts, or otherfastenings, from the walls of the chamber. Clips 11 are provided tomount the ducts and hold the same against'displacement when fitted inthe proper position between the side walls of the chamber, and theseclips, which are here illustrated as being made of sheet metal cut orstamped and then bent up to the proper form, have the base portions 12pro vided with openings 13 for reception of rivets or other fastenings1%, by which the clips are mounted and rigidly held upon the inner sidesof the walls of the chamber, the

clip structure from the base portion 12 being bent outwardly to form ashoulder 15, and then bent forwardly to provide a'retaining flange 16. Atongue 17 is provided at the lower end of the retaining flange 16 and isbent up to extend substantially at right angles to form a stop at thelower end of the flange. These clips 11 are made to be right and left,and are mounted upon the side walls of the chamber substantially afterthe manner shown in Fig. 1, and then when the duct is to be mounted inplace within the chamber,it is only necessary to register the flange 10of the end piece with the spaces provided behind the retaining flanges16 of the clips 11 and to exert downward force against the ductstructure to bring the same to a position that further downward movementis prevented by the stop 17, and then the duct will be positively heldagainst displacement throughthe pressure of grain loaded into thechamber, and will also act as a brace netween the side walls 1 and 2.

In the patent above referred to, eventuating from the application filedby me,'a drier is disclosed in which successive rows of ducts have thepassages communicating therewith formed through the opposite walls, andit will of course be understood that where passages are provided throughthe side walls as shown at 18, the clips 11 will be mounted and securedin place adjacent thereto and then as the ducts are fitted in place,proper registry will be accomplished.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a duct holderfor use in' mounting and securing air ducts in'place in grain driers andin other likeconnection, which is of such character that the ducts maybe readily fitted in position for use and may with equal facility beremoved and replaced, and that the formation of-the parts is such thatnot only is the duct proper braced and strengthened, but also the ductswill act to brace and reinforce between the walls of a chamber in whichthey are mounted.

While in the foregoing I have intimated that the end pieces are castingsand the clip members are made up of sheet metal, it will of course beunderstood that these parts might be made up in other ways than asdescribed, also it will be apparent that the duct structure as anentirety might perhaps be raried in its form and manner of construction;and, to those skilled in the art, it will be apparentthat other changesmight be resorted to, in view of which fact reference should be had tothe claims for the points considered as novel in this invention.

I claim 1. A duct having flanges provided at the ends thereof, and meansmounted on the part from Which the duct is to be supported and shaped toengage over and embrace the flange to thus retain the duct in a fiXedmounting.

2. A duct holder comprising a flanged member fitted within the duct, andmeans mounted on the part from which the duct is to be supported andshaped to engage over and embrace the flange to thus retain the duct ina fixed mounting.

3. In combination With a duct having outstanding flanges at the endsthereof, clips shaped to have the flanges received and held therein.

4. In combination with a duct adapted to be fitted substantiallytransversely and horizontally Within a chamber between the side Wallsthereof, a member formed as a part of said duct having outstandingflanges, and

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe clips carried by the side walls of the chamber to receive theflanges of the member and support the duct in its mounted position.

5. A duct holder including an end piece to be secured .in the end of aduct and provided with outstanding flanges at the sides thereof, andclips provided with flanges behind Which the flanges of the end memberare received and having stops to limit movement of the end member whenbrought to a fitted position.

6. In combination with end pieces having outstanding flanges providedthereon, a duct structure built around said end pieces, and clips madeto be right and left and to be secured upon a wall from which the ductis to extend in such relation that the flanges of the end members arereceived therein to mount and hold a duct in place.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FULTON R. MORRIS. Witnesses:

ERWIN A. KRoHN, GEo. A. SCHROEDER.

"Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

